Rick Kriseman defends Michael Bloomberg’s decision to run for president

Former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg did, why not Kriseman too?

St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman doesn’t have a problem with former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg entering the Democratic presidential race.

“The Democratic Party is the big tent party, which is why we should welcome Mike Bloomberg and others into the race with open arms. He has been dedicated to helping cities innovate, tackle climate change, and reduce gun violence, and will give voters yet another choice in 2020. There’s nothing wrong with that,” Kriseman wrote on Facebook.

In a weekend Facebook post, Kriseman shared a photo of him meeting with Bloomberg last year at Kahwa Coffee in downtown St. Pete the same day Bloomberg announced he was adding St. Pete to his philanthropic organization’s American Cities Climate Challenge, giving the city access to $2.5 million worth of resources to help reach its climate goals.

Kriseman has not endorsed a candidate for president yet.

Kriseman’s post came the same day Bloomberg officially announced he would run.

Bloomberg’s candidacy is controversial among some Democrats. The former Republican has expressed reservations about the party’s progressive shift in recent years.

He also came under fire for his controversial and ultimately canceled “stop and frisk” program that allowed law enforcement officers to randomly stop people they thought looked suspicious and pat them down in search of drugs or weapons. The policy was heavily criticized for promoting racial profiling.

Bloomberg has since apologized for the policy.

Bloomberg says he is running to offer a more pragmatic choice for Democrats hoping to defeat President Donald Trump in 2020. As a multibillionaire, Bloomberg presents a moneyed threat to Trump. He’s already committed $35 million to an initial television ad blitz and his website touts “a new choice for Democrats.”

Defeating Trump is Bloomberg’s main motivation in entering the race saying on Sunday that it was an “urgent” fight and one he was prepared to take on.

Defeating Trump was also his goal in 2016, when he announced he wouldn’t launch his long-rumored independent run for the White House. Though unsuccessful, the logic was he would avoid splitting the vote with Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, thus ensuring a Trump victory.

Now that he’s officially (re)registered as a Democrat and is running as one, his candidacy wouldn’t produce any Election Day worries if he were to lose out on the nomination. If he were to win the nomination, however, he may be able to do what something many Democrats have failed at: convince some center-right voters to vote blue.